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The Hand That Takes: Fall of the Coward, Book 1
A cursed artifact. A violent crime syndicate. A thief in over his head....
Salvatori Lorenzo seeks to make his place in the world, but first, he must survive the mean streets of Dijvois. In a city run by gangsters, a life of crime is nothing short of ordinary, especially for a thief living in Low Town.
Opportunity comes knocking after Sal is tasked with the theft of a magical locket. When the heist of the century goes awry, fingers are pointed in the hunt for a rat within the crew, but once bodies begin to drop, it's left to Sal to find the killer, before he finds himself the next victim.
Buy the exciting Grimdark fantasy The Hand That Takes , Fall of the Coward, book one . The perfect novel for fans of Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, and Patrick Rothfuss.
Salvatori Lorenzo seeks to make his place in the world, but first, he must survive the mean streets of Dijvois. In a city run by gangsters, a life of crime is nothing short of ordinary, especially for a thief living in Low Town.
Opportunity comes knocking after Sal is tasked with the theft of a magical locket. When the heist of the century goes awry, fingers are pointed in the hunt for a rat within the crew, but once bodies begin to drop, it's left to Sal to find the killer, before he finds himself the next victim.
Buy the exciting Grimdark fantasy The Hand That Takes , Fall of the Coward, book one . The perfect novel for fans of Scott Lynch, Robin Hobb, and Patrick Rothfuss.
Audible Audio
Published November 16, 2020
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About the author
Taylor O'Connell
3 books5 followersTaylor O'Connell writes Grimdark Fantasy. He is the author of 'The Hand That Takes', 'A Fool of Sorts', and 'The Man in Shadow'.
When he isn't writing, Taylor spends much of his time with his wife and children, and the rest of his time illustrating.
When he isn't writing, Taylor spends much of his time with his wife and children, and the rest of his time illustrating.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 18, 2021
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars (rounded up)
The Hand That Takes is a grimdark fantasy following a thief who gets embroiled in some nasty business and steals a magical locket. We are dropped into the middle of the action after a heist has gone wrong and Sal (our main character) is trying to escape being caught. It definitely makes for a confusing first part of the books as we don't know the characters, the stakes, the world, or what this heist job was all about. That said, things eventually do become fairly clear and I was sucked into Sal's story, including flashbacks that fill us in on his complicated family history and what led up to the heist in the first place.
It's clear that there is more to Sal than meets the eye, likely more than he even knows and we get some heavy foreshadowing I imagine will get resolved in later books in the series. The world is an interesting one, though the magic system is not well explained. The primary source of magic we see is this locket inscribed with a rune, but also Sal doesn't know how it works either so it perhaps makes sense the reader wouldn't either. I do wish we got more explanation at some point.
Sal works with a crew of thieves and there is lots of bawdy talk that can definitely be misogynistic, but it also seems realistic for the characters. If that's going to bother you, be aware. I'll put additional content warnings below for those who need them, but in general just know that the women in this book are primarily throwaway side characters, victims, or the object of male interest. There is the potential for a couple of characters to become more fully fleshed out in future books with their own motivations and character arcs and I hope we get that, but this first book fails to offer dynamic female characters. Which is perhaps par for the course in this genre, but still kind of unfortunate and a missed opportunity.
That said, I generally had a positive reading experience and found there to be a nice blend of action, character development, and world-building. It's a good debut for an indie author and there's certainly potential here. And the narrator for the audiobook did a FANTASTIC job! He even sang the pub ditties and really nailed the narration. I received a copy of this book for review from the author. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include on page rape and attempted group rape (not by the main character), misogyny & misogynistic slurs, graphic violence and death, drug use and mention of addiction.
The Hand That Takes is a grimdark fantasy following a thief who gets embroiled in some nasty business and steals a magical locket. We are dropped into the middle of the action after a heist has gone wrong and Sal (our main character) is trying to escape being caught. It definitely makes for a confusing first part of the books as we don't know the characters, the stakes, the world, or what this heist job was all about. That said, things eventually do become fairly clear and I was sucked into Sal's story, including flashbacks that fill us in on his complicated family history and what led up to the heist in the first place.
It's clear that there is more to Sal than meets the eye, likely more than he even knows and we get some heavy foreshadowing I imagine will get resolved in later books in the series. The world is an interesting one, though the magic system is not well explained. The primary source of magic we see is this locket inscribed with a rune, but also Sal doesn't know how it works either so it perhaps makes sense the reader wouldn't either. I do wish we got more explanation at some point.
Sal works with a crew of thieves and there is lots of bawdy talk that can definitely be misogynistic, but it also seems realistic for the characters. If that's going to bother you, be aware. I'll put additional content warnings below for those who need them, but in general just know that the women in this book are primarily throwaway side characters, victims, or the object of male interest. There is the potential for a couple of characters to become more fully fleshed out in future books with their own motivations and character arcs and I hope we get that, but this first book fails to offer dynamic female characters. Which is perhaps par for the course in this genre, but still kind of unfortunate and a missed opportunity.
That said, I generally had a positive reading experience and found there to be a nice blend of action, character development, and world-building. It's a good debut for an indie author and there's certainly potential here. And the narrator for the audiobook did a FANTASTIC job! He even sang the pub ditties and really nailed the narration. I received a copy of this book for review from the author. All opinions are my own.
Content warnings include on page rape and attempted group rape (not by the main character), misogyny & misogynistic slurs, graphic violence and death, drug use and mention of addiction.
January 27, 2020
Spoiler Free Review
**I received a free copy from the Author for my honest review**
The Hand that Takes is a Grimdark Adult Fantasy written in the style of The Lies of Locke Lamora (featuring a gang of thieves with flashbacks inter-spaced) with the character focus of The Blade Itself (mostly our MC, Sal). In classic Grimdark fashion, at the start of the story you are thrown straight into a scene, this time into the downswing of the heist falling apart. One technique I really enjoyed, was that in these first few scenes O'Connell really brought the reader into the anxiety and confusion of the fall out, making us dart from character to character, scrambling to take account of everyone and trying to figure out what could have happened. It's one of the best beginnings I've read in several months.
Despite being a member of the heist, Sal is a lone wolf for most of the novel. We see from the flashbacks that he most definitely wasn't always a thief, and that, while he does have own group of thieves/friends (Bartley and Vinny), it appears that he doesn't let himself get too close to them. One of the things that makes Grimdark really stand out are motives and the investment of the characters, and while Sal was definitely invested in his family and romantic interest, Bartley and Vinny felt more like friendships of convenience than true friendships. All this to say that I do hope to see Sal’s relationships develop further in the next books since I think it would be super intriguing for Sal to be pushed to make tougher and tougher decisions.
This novel also really showcases what I love about small/self pub books. Without the hand of a large publisher, these authors have the freedom to write about so many things, to push boundaries, and to tell stories that would have never been told otherwise. I really enjoyed O'Connell embracing Grimdark and not pulling any punches when it came to darker material. Of course I can admit it could have been done with a bit more finesse but that comes with experience. Nevertheless the darker material did not dampen my enjoyment of the story and I actually really enjoyed O'Connell's lack of fear to 'go there'.
Overall, I am really impressed by O'Connell's debut novel and I'm super excited to see another author in the Grimdark genre. If you have a dark little heart and love Grimdark fantasy, you may very well enjoy this one too!
**I received a free copy from the Author for my honest review**
The Hand that Takes is a Grimdark Adult Fantasy written in the style of The Lies of Locke Lamora (featuring a gang of thieves with flashbacks inter-spaced) with the character focus of The Blade Itself (mostly our MC, Sal). In classic Grimdark fashion, at the start of the story you are thrown straight into a scene, this time into the downswing of the heist falling apart. One technique I really enjoyed, was that in these first few scenes O'Connell really brought the reader into the anxiety and confusion of the fall out, making us dart from character to character, scrambling to take account of everyone and trying to figure out what could have happened. It's one of the best beginnings I've read in several months.
Despite being a member of the heist, Sal is a lone wolf for most of the novel. We see from the flashbacks that he most definitely wasn't always a thief, and that, while he does have own group of thieves/friends (Bartley and Vinny), it appears that he doesn't let himself get too close to them. One of the things that makes Grimdark really stand out are motives and the investment of the characters, and while Sal was definitely invested in his family and romantic interest, Bartley and Vinny felt more like friendships of convenience than true friendships. All this to say that I do hope to see Sal’s relationships develop further in the next books since I think it would be super intriguing for Sal to be pushed to make tougher and tougher decisions.
This novel also really showcases what I love about small/self pub books. Without the hand of a large publisher, these authors have the freedom to write about so many things, to push boundaries, and to tell stories that would have never been told otherwise. I really enjoyed O'Connell embracing Grimdark and not pulling any punches when it came to darker material. Of course I can admit it could have been done with a bit more finesse but that comes with experience. Nevertheless the darker material did not dampen my enjoyment of the story and I actually really enjoyed O'Connell's lack of fear to 'go there'.
Overall, I am really impressed by O'Connell's debut novel and I'm super excited to see another author in the Grimdark genre. If you have a dark little heart and love Grimdark fantasy, you may very well enjoy this one too!
December 29, 2019
The Hand that Takes is book 1 in the Fall of the Coward series. It takes place in a fantasy city of Dijvois, which reminds me a lot of Kings Landing in Game of Thrones. It tells the story of Sal and his friends trying to make a living by thieving in a town run by a major crime syndicate. When Sal is tasked with the theft of a magical locket, everything changes. I absolutely loved this book. You learn a lot about the fantasy world as you read and it has serious Lord of the Rings vibes. I loved how we got flashbacks to Sal growing up that gave us a lot of insight into who he is. This book starts off right off the bat with action and suspense and it never stops. The world is so well put together that there is even lore about the gods that they worship. I cant wait to read the rest of the books in this series!
May 13, 2021
why even bother !
This kinda started alright then fell off the cliff I really didn't like that their was no back or no world building and I was in the dark running around with thieves trying to steal a ring for these mob style organization from there a necklace the main characters were not believable the situations were crazy silly hopefully you will enjoy this book better than I did because it was not worth the time or money for me .
This kinda started alright then fell off the cliff I really didn't like that their was no back or no world building and I was in the dark running around with thieves trying to steal a ring for these mob style organization from there a necklace the main characters were not believable the situations were crazy silly hopefully you will enjoy this book better than I did because it was not worth the time or money for me .
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews